Climate disasters threaten essential health services, minister warns

From patients needing dialysis to pregnant women seeking care, people in need of essential health services can have these disrupted by climate-related disasters, Health Minister Senator Lisa Cummins warned on Tuesday, calling for stronger coordination to protect the healthcare system.

She said: “For a minister of health at a policy level, the questions include things like whether a patient can still get to dialysis, whether medicines remain available and safely stored, whether a pregnant woman can reach care, and whether our health professionals can get to work from their own homes and families when they have also been affected by the same crises.”

Patients needing dialysis and pregnant women seeking care were among those whose access to treatment could be disrupted, she said.